There has been a lot of news of late on the casting for Jose Padilha's Robocop remake (but seeing how details point to a very different ...
There has been a lot of news of late on the casting for Jose Padilha's Robocop remake (but seeing how details point to a very different take on the original, I think it can be filed under 're-imagining'), with Gray Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Joel Kinnaman all on board. Now word has hit that Hugh Laurie will be joining proceedings as the villain of the piece, playing the ultra rich and evil C.E.O. of Omnicorp, the company makes Robocop. Omni Consumer Products, the company from the original, is the name of an actual company now, making real life versions of products featured in movies (such as Stay Puft brand marshmallows from Ghostbusters, and Anchorman's Sex Panther cologne), so that could explain the name change.
The role is similar to the one originally played by Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy. Known as The Old Man, he was a kind hearted and wise figure, appalled by the underhanded dealings of his employees, in the original Robocop, but underwent a frustrating change of character in the sequel into the type of person he despised in the first film.
Filming on the new movie is expected to start in September, with a tentative release date given as the 9th of August 2013.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
